Even now, it is only found around this subtropical tip of the continent. But these springs aren't just a haven for modern day wildlife. They've also yielded many secrets of the distant past.
When these pools were first explored, they would have looked like this, strewn with astonishing fossil remains from ice age beasts.
Florida has one of the richest fossil records of the ice age anywhere on earth. So what kind of creatures did such bones and skulls belong to? And how did these springs become their graveyards?
Many of the fossils are from animals that you can still see today. Indeed, we've recognized the vast majority of Florida's ice age wildlife. Nevertheless, the most spectacular ice age beast did become extinct. And remarkably, some of them share a common ancestor with modern manatees.
1 oasis
n.(沙漠中的)綠洲,宜人的地方
參考例句:
They stopped for the night at an oasis.他們?cè)谏衬械木G洲停下來(lái)過(guò)夜。
The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.該鎮(zhèn)是貧窮荒漠中的一塊繁榮的“綠洲”。
2 profusion
n.揮霍;豐富
參考例句:
He is liberal to profusion.他揮霍無(wú)度。
The leaves are falling in profusion.落葉紛紛。
3 manatee
n.海牛
參考例句:
We watched dolphin,manatee,sea lion and whale shows.我們看了海豚、海牛、海獅和鯨的表演。
One of the most extraordinary river creatures is Amazonian manatee.其中河里最特別的生物之一要數(shù)亞馬孫海牛。
4 haven
n.安全的地方,避難所,庇護(hù)所
參考例句:
It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后,這真是一個(gè)安樂(lè)窩。
The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.學(xué)校的圖書(shū)館是一個(gè)和平且安靜的小避風(fēng)港。
5 remains
n.剩余物,殘留物;遺體,遺跡
參考例句:
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.殘羹剩飯喂狗了。
6 skulls
顱骨( skull的名詞復(fù)數(shù) ); 腦袋; 腦子; 腦瓜
參考例句:
One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 現(xiàn)已發(fā)現(xiàn)的女性顱骨中,其中有一個(gè)的腦容量超過(guò)了今天的普通男子。
We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我們便能令月光下的平原變白,遍布白色的骷髏!
7 graveyards
墓地( graveyard的名詞復(fù)數(shù) ); 垃圾場(chǎng); 廢物堆積處; 收容所
參考例句:
He takes a macabre interest in graveyards. 他那么留意墓地,令人毛骨悚然。
"And northward there lie, in five graveyards, Calm forever under dewy green grass," 五陵北原上,萬(wàn)古青蒙蒙。 來(lái)自英漢 - 翻譯樣例 - 文學(xué)
8 remarkably
ad.不同尋常地,相當(dāng)?shù)?/p>
參考例句:
I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我認(rèn)為她在那種情況下非??酥?。
He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康復(fù)得相當(dāng)快。
9 manatees
n.海牛(水生哺乳動(dòng)物,體寬扁,尾圓,有鰓狀肢)( manatee的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )
參考例句:
The manatees tamed quickly. 海牛很快地被馴服。 來(lái)自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)
Gentle and slow moving, manatees are said to be the mythical mermaids of sailors' imaginations. 海牛游動(dòng)溫和而緩慢,被認(rèn)為是海員遐想中富有神秘色彩的美人魚(yú)。 來(lái)自互聯(lián)網(wǎng)